At many different points along your yogic path, you will need to ask yourself if teaching yoga is a hobby, charity, or business? There is no wrong answer, but like all things in yoga, it is important that we treat the answer with honor and intention. Go Ahead, ask yourself, “Am I a student? A Teacher? Or a business?” Often, we find that we are one, two, or maybe all three of these things. Sometimes, after careful consideration, we discover that we’re none of them at all. Whichever answer you arrive at, it’s beautiful. But if you’ve decided that you’re more than one of these things; we need to pause and draw clarity to what ‘being’ each one really means. After all, we can be many things at once, but our focused efforts need a little more clarity to be effective. Figure out which one fills your cup.
Hobby, Charity, or Business?
Teaching yoga is an incredible job. Here’s what I’ve learned about yoga teachers, and business owners; they LOVE what they do, their capacity to give is MOVING, and so many of them struggle to make ends meet. The majority of people that I’ve met in the yoga business are ‘the real deal’; Wise, loving, giving people who believe in what they’re doing. And I love nothing more than meeting and seeing these people walk the walk. It is a journey of integrity and authenticity. Some make it in the business and some do not. The issue isn’t usually that a business or owner wasn’t authentic, it’s that the nuances of having a growing business got in the way. So right out of the gate, get clear: why are you going to be teaching yoga? And I don’t just mean the intrinsic, spiritual reasons why.
Things To Consider
- Being a yoga student is a varied and integrative hobby that often influences your lifestyle choices and spiritual practices.
- Teaching Yoga is a job where you focus on sharing the technical mechanics and applications of yoga.
- Owning a yoga business is about managing your entrepreneurial vision in an active and viable way.
1. Hobbies Are For Self-Fulfillment
Usually, establishing a yoga practice originates in our lives in the form of a hobby, an exercise practice, or maybe from spiritual exploration. Personal yoga practice is created of layers that accommodate your core beliefs and infuse joy and purpose into your life. Yoga is a practice; however, your practice may look nothing like someone else’s, and it doesn’t have to. If your yoga practices honor your self-fulfillment and actualization, I encourage you to sink in deeply and enjoy cultivating your practice with intention.
2. Charities Raise Money to Support a Cause
There’s a beautiful quote that says, “Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.” Yogis are super in tune with this, and the genuine energy of charitable giving is visible in their personal energy, and often, in their causes. Sometimes, yoga teachers develop non-profit programs that become their job to raise money for or to offer a beloved cause. Often, for-profit yoga business owners also maintain charitable work through their businesses in one form or another…because it’s part of truly living in yogic ways. Unfortunately, it’s all too common to encounter for-profit business owners that forget that despite their deeply held and demonstrated beliefs; for-profit businesses, charitable causes, and charities run in different ways in order to be successful. Which do you want to be?
3. Businesses Generate Jobs and Income
The second you decide to build a business around yoga, there’s a whole new world of technical theory and movements that come into play. It’s exciting, and in order to be effective, you’re going to want to start looking, examining, and learning many new things in a variety of places. While some yoga business owners have backgrounds in a variety of areas, including psychology, marketing, business, etc; all of them do not. And that’s okay. What all successful business owners have in common, is that they are aware of what they don’t know and continue learning, absorbing, and integrating as they evolve along the way. If you’re kicking around ideas, building a new yoga business, or looking to revamp an existing one, check out our Yoga Business Resources to self-check, get balanced, and learn more.
At The End of The Day
I want you to be intentional with how you define the purpose behind “Why You Teach Yoga” because the deeper of an understanding that you have with that answer, the more abundant you will be in manifesting your vision in the real, working mechanics of running a yoga business in this modern-day life. Teaching yoga as a hobby, charity, or as a business are all wonderful adventures with different paths. If you decide to run a business, you need to know that your business is not a charity so that it doesn’t turn you into a charity case. Know which road you are steering for ahead and fill up!
Be Clear.
Be Intentional.
Manifest Your Vision.